Wire

Everything you need to know about Delta Robotics' Nitinol wire—specs, performance, control, and best practices for high-performance actuation.

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Wire

Everything you need to know about Delta Robotics' Nitinol wire—specs, performance, control, and best practices for high-performance actuation.

Nitinol Wire: What It Is, What It Does, and How Not to Break It

At Delta Robotics, we sell wire that moves. Not like electrical current (though yes, that too) — we’re talking real, physical motion. Our Nitinol wire contracts when you heat it, and then cools back into shape. It's kind of like a tiny, silent robot muscle.

This page is here to help you understand what our wires can do, how to use them, and how to not ruin them on Day One.

🧪 What You’re Working With (Product Overview)

Let’s start with the basics. Here’s what’s in the box:

Material: Nickel-Titanium (aka Nitinol — it’s a shape memory alloy)
Form: Straight annealed
How It Works: Joule heating (just run current through it)
Lengths: 1 ft, 5 ft, 10 ft (custom lengths if you ask nicely)
Diameters: 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm, 2.0 mm
Activation Temp: ~90 °C (hot, but not melt-your-desk hot)

By default, our wires are trained straight. Want them to curl, bend, or do something wild?

✅ Best Practices (a.k.a. How Not to Mess It Up)

✅ Use screw terminals or mechanical anchors
🚫 Avoid soldering (unless pre-tabbed)
⚖️ Pre-tension slightly — but don’t stretch it
🔁 Stay under 5% strain if you want it to last

📐 NiTi: Wire Specs

Our Nitinol wire kicks into action around 85–95 °C. The data below is a combination of manufacturer specs, lab tests, and a healthy amount of calculator abuse.

⚠️ We’re still validating these numbers across lab and field tests. If you’re a Nitinol nerd and spot something weird — let us know!

Property

0.5 mm

1.0 mm

2.0 mm

Resistance (Ω/m)

~4.3 Ω

~1.1 Ω (estimated)

~0.27 Ω (estimated)

Heating Pull Force (g)

~3,560 g

~14,240 g (est.)

~56,960 g (est.)

Cooling (Bias) Force (g)

~1,424 g

~5,696 g (est.)

~22,784 g (est.)

Contraction Current (~1s)

~4 A

~16 A (est.)

~64 A (est.)

Cooling Time (90 °C, air)

~14 s

~40 s (est.)

~100 s (est.)

Max Recommended Strain

🎯 Use 3–4% strain if you want your wire to last longer than a weekend.

🔄 How Long Will It Last?

Here’s the short version: less strain = longer life. Push it too far, and it’ll break up with you.

Strain

Cycle Life

1,000,000+ cycles

100,000+ cycles

10,000–20,000 cycles

2,000–5,000 cycles

>8%

💀 Don’t say we didn’t warn you

🧠 Control It Like a Pro

ThermoFlex™ Node Controller

All of our wires work with our ThermoFlex™ Node Controller, built by people who really love robots and hate magic smoke.

Pre-made wire profiles (coming soon)
USB & Serial control (yes, you can script it)
Built-in current & resistance sensing
60 A output — enough to power even 2 mm wire for an under 1-second contraction time

It runs on Arduino Minima, talks over CAN, and supports up to 200 devices from one USB cable. Also? It helped us shape-set actuators electrically before we got a fancy furnace.

❄️ Cooling Tips

Want your wire to move faster? Get it cold, quickly.

Air Cooling to Room Temperature ~14 s for 0.5 mm ~40 s for 1.0 mm ~100 s for 2.0 mm (That’s in still air — use a fan!)
Liquid Cooling Up to 100× faster. Yes, really. We’re building a system just for this. Stay tuned.

🔩 How to Mount It (Without Tears)

Getting the wire connected is an underrated art form. Here's your cheat sheet:

Physical Mounting

Method

Works For?

Notes

Screw-down clamps

All sizes

Best combo of secure + simple

Wrap-around posts

Light duty setups

Just make sure it’s tensioned well

Crimps

Low-force only

Fatigue risk at higher loads

Electrical Connection

Method

Works For?

Notes

Screw terminals

Most setups

Best choice. Easy to adjust, high current capable

Alligator clips

Prototypes only

Handy but not reliable for real-world use

Soldering

⚠️ Not recommended

Unless you’re a chemist (see below)

🧪 Experimental: Soldering Nitinol

Don’t try this at home — seriously.

Yes, it’s technically possible. But first you have to:

Strip the oxide layer using hydrofluoric acid (don’t unless you know how to)
Electroplate with nickel
Then maybe — maybe — your solder will stick (still experimental)

We only do this in the lab, and we’re trained. This isn’t a weekend project.

📚 Sources & References

For the curious, the nerdy, and the skeptical — here are some external referances:

1.0 mm and 2.0 mm wire specifications are extrapolated from 0.5 mm data using math, standard assumptions, and coffee.

PreviousNiTiNOL NextSpring

Last updated 1 month ago

Was this helpful?

Nitinol Wire: What It Is, What It Does, and How Not to Break It

This page is here to help you understand what our wires can do, how to use them, and how to not ruin them on Day One.

🧪 What You’re Working With (Product Overview)

Let’s start with the basics. Here’s what’s in the box:

Material: Nickel-Titanium (aka Nitinol — it’s a shape memory alloy)
Form: Straight annealed
How It Works: Joule heating (just run current through it)
Lengths: 1 ft, 5 ft, 10 ft (custom lengths if you ask nicely)
Diameters: 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm, 2.0 mm
Activation Temp: ~90 °C (hot, but not melt-your-desk hot)

By default, our wires are trained straight. Want them to curl, bend, or do something wild?

✅ Best Practices (a.k.a. How Not to Mess It Up)

✅ Use screw terminals or mechanical anchors
🚫 Avoid soldering (unless pre-tabbed)
⚖️ Pre-tension slightly — but don’t stretch it
🔁 Stay under 5% strain if you want it to last

📐 NiTi: Wire Specs

Our Nitinol wire kicks into action around 85–95 °C. The data below is a combination of manufacturer specs, lab tests, and a healthy amount of calculator abuse.

⚠️ We’re still validating these numbers across lab and field tests. If you’re a Nitinol nerd and spot something weird — let us know!

Property

0.5 mm

1.0 mm

2.0 mm

Resistance (Ω/m)

~4.3 Ω

~1.1 Ω (estimated)

~0.27 Ω (estimated)

Heating Pull Force (g)

~3,560 g

~14,240 g (est.)

~56,960 g (est.)

Cooling (Bias) Force (g)

~1,424 g

~5,696 g (est.)

~22,784 g (est.)

Contraction Current (~1s)

~4 A

~16 A (est.)

~64 A (est.)

Cooling Time (90 °C, air)

~14 s

~40 s (est.)

~100 s (est.)

Max Recommended Strain

🎯 Use 3–4% strain if you want your wire to last longer than a weekend.

🔄 How Long Will It Last?

Here’s the short version: less strain = longer life. Push it too far, and it’ll break up with you.

Strain

Cycle Life

1,000,000+ cycles

100,000+ cycles

10,000–20,000 cycles

2,000–5,000 cycles

>8%

💀 Don’t say we didn’t warn you

🧠 Control It Like a Pro

ThermoFlex™ Node Controller

All of our wires work with our ThermoFlex™ Node Controller, built by people who really love robots and hate magic smoke.

Pre-made wire profiles (coming soon)
USB & Serial control (yes, you can script it)
Built-in current & resistance sensing
60 A output — enough to power even 2 mm wire for an under 1-second contraction time

It runs on Arduino Minima, talks over CAN, and supports up to 200 devices from one USB cable. Also? It helped us shape-set actuators electrically before we got a fancy furnace.

❄️ Cooling Tips

Want your wire to move faster? Get it cold, quickly.

Air Cooling to Room Temperature ~14 s for 0.5 mm ~40 s for 1.0 mm ~100 s for 2.0 mm (That’s in still air — use a fan!)
Liquid Cooling Up to 100× faster. Yes, really. We’re building a system just for this. Stay tuned.

🔩 How to Mount It (Without Tears)

Getting the wire connected is an underrated art form. Here's your cheat sheet:

Physical Mounting

Method

Works For?

Notes

Screw-down clamps

All sizes

Best combo of secure + simple

Wrap-around posts

Light duty setups

Just make sure it’s tensioned well

Crimps

Low-force only

Fatigue risk at higher loads

Electrical Connection

Method

Works For?

Notes

Screw terminals

Most setups

Best choice. Easy to adjust, high current capable

Alligator clips

Prototypes only

Handy but not reliable for real-world use

Soldering

⚠️ Not recommended

Unless you’re a chemist (see below)

🧪 Experimental: Soldering Nitinol

Don’t try this at home — seriously.

Yes, it’s technically possible. But first you have to:

Strip the oxide layer using hydrofluoric acid (don’t unless you know how to)
Electroplate with nickel
Then maybe — maybe — your solder will stick (still experimental)

We only do this in the lab, and we’re trained. This isn’t a weekend project.

📚 Sources & References

For the curious, the nerdy, and the skeptical — here are some external referances:

Fort Wayne Metals

1.0 mm and 2.0 mm wire specifications are extrapolated from 0.5 mm data using math, standard assumptions, and coffee.